Tag: life journey

I am happiest when I am in nature. For those who haven’t been following along my journey in the Annapurna region, this is my 6th day of trekking (please click on the hyperlink if you’d like to read my travel blog: ABC to Lower Sinuwa). I have spent 6 days completely in nature and have surrounded by absolute beauty, listened to the sounds of birds, insects, rivers, waterfalls, and the wind rustling the leaves on the trees and that’s all I need to be truly happy- to appreciate and be content. So, that got me thinking, what is happiness? Is it the reliance of other people or things that make us happy or is it being content with what you have, enjoying and appreciating all that life provides you with and living in the moment?

About happiness

In the end these things matter most:

How well did you love?

How fully did you live?

How deeply did you learn to let go?

– Jack Kornfield

Conditional Happiness

Conditional happiness is not true happiness. Attaching your happiness to another person or object means that you are projecting the cause of your happiness on the condition that you will have this person/ thing in your life. This is dangerous because they then control your happiness and it is an entity outside of yourself. To me, this indicates a lack of the most important feelings to be nurtured in every person. Don’t get me wrong happiness does not necessarily mean being free from attachment but it certainly does not depend on any one person or a condition.

True Happiness or unconditional happiness

True happiness has no reasons such as a new love, a better job or having fun with our friends. The unconditional happiness that is our true nature is always there, no matter whether good or bad things are happening – it’s the essence of what and who we are. Unconditional happiness is built on a foundation of self-worth and self-love. A place of self-love and self-worth will enable us to stand alone and rejoice in any experience that we have had, knowing that it was an opportunity to learn, grow and evolve as a human being.

This takes me back to the 3 questions posed at the beginning of this blog: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you learn to let go?

It seems to me that unless you are unconditionally happy you can never truly answer any of these questions. If you are unconditionally happy there will never be failure in your life, simply a learning experience for the soul.

The first thing that matters is how much you have loved. I think what is really being said here is that it’s important to allow love to be the basis for our thoughts, words and deeds. It is also about treating people with loving kindness. It is enjoying and appreciating all that life provides you with.

The second part has to do with “living fully.” To me this means living pro-actively, going out and having lots of different experiences and ideally, learning as much as possible from all your experiences. It is also about living in the moment. How can you live fully if you are always focusing on the past or the future?

The third part talks about letting go. This could be a multitude of things- money and material possessions are at the top of my list of things to let go of. Then there is social status and referring to yourself as your position or profession. Next, your negative beliefs and opinions will have to be let go of as well to be truly happy. It is being content with what you have and who you are.

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.”- Albert Schweitzer

A lot of the books that I have been reading lately have been talking about doing something outside your comfort zone. And if I am being perfectly honest with you I would have to say that trekking to Annapurna Base Camp (See my travel blog: Dovan to ABC) is about as far out of my comfort zone as me travelling to the moon. With no training we decided that it would be a good idea to engage in a 10-day trek from Nayapul to Poon Hill and then all the way up to Annapurna Base Camp and back down again. It was difficult and tiring and draining… but we made it.

This got me thinking, what was it that we required in order to ‘take the leap of faith’ and just go ahead and try it anyway. Apart from wanting to try something new, we also had trust. Trust in ourselves, trust in our bodies, minds and spirits to get us there and back.

That led me to wonder about what this means for your yoga practice. Do you stay within your comfort zone and never break out? Do you trust and listen to your body?

In order to step outside our comfort zone, you need to have trust. You need to trust yourself and in particular, your body. You must trust your decisions and your ability to know what is right for you.

In that self-trust, you are acknowledging not only your strengths, but also your weaknesses or limitations. I myself have many limitations since my accident that fractured my ankle and partially tore my ACL (See: How did I find yoga?If you are interest in the back story to how I got here today). But despite my limitations I always find a way do to the things I want to do. Maybe some of my poses are not always perfect and I often take longer to do things like walking uphill or mastering a new pose but I get there with perseverance and trust. With trust we realise that we not only have the ability to succeed and thrive, but there is also the possibility that we may fail. But when you think about it, both are ok because when we trust ourselves, we are listening to our bodies and when we listen to our bodies, we can never push ourselves beyond our limits.

If we had been too scared to take the plunge and decide to do the complete trek, we would never have known just what we were made of and would have missed out on so many beautiful experiences.

So, we need to take the plunge, to jump, to try and succeed or fail, and if we do fail, to get back up and try again. We need to get out of our comfort zone and try something new.

So, getting back to the questions I posed earlier, do you stay within your comfort zone and never break out? Do you trust and listen to your body? Do you try new or difficult yoga poses or do you say to yourself that it is too difficult?

One pose that I know a lot of people are freaked out by are handstands so today I wanted to dedicate the rest of this piece to the humble asana- The handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana).

Sometimes, just like in real life, we need to flip our perspectives and get outside our comfort zone (or in this case get ourselves upside down)- even if it freaks us out.

One can be a positive: disconnecting from work and technology in order to enjoy spending time with the people we love and doing the things we enjoy doing. The negative is the opposite: feeling disconnected from the people around us, because we are in a constant state of ‘busyness’; finding ourselves becoming more insular and separate. Day 4 into our trek (if you would like to follow my travel blog, please click on this hyperlink: Siprong to Dovan) and with no access to the internet, we are feeling disconnected not only from technology but our family and friends back home. Today I am going to talk about the positives of disconnecting.

Sometimes back in Australia I find myself permanently in a state of being ‘switched on’; available night and day to answer emails, chat to online friends, and working way too many hours a week. Worst of all, this is often to the detriment of my real-life relationships.

Just like my yoga practice brings me back to my mat, back to myself, and back to re-connect with the real-life people around me; trekking in Nepal has also had the same effect. Without access to and the distraction of technology, I found myself deep in my own thoughts, enjoying the sounds of nature and absorbed in meaningful conversations.

Trekking has been an imposed ‘switch off’ both mentally and metaphorically, from the digital clutter that fills a lot of my life. I have found that apart from the mind-blowing scenery in Nepal, the thing that I have enjoyed the most about my 10-day trek through Nepal was being with myself; both being alone with my thoughts and the quietness.

If you are reading this and wondering what does this have to do with yoga or thinking “I’m not keen to go on a 10-day trek through Nepal so that, I too, can practise being with myself”, never fear I have got a solution for you!

Why not try Easy Pose? In my opinion, it is the perfect a way to reconnect with that inner self and disconnect from all of life’s stresses (if only for a little while- I can’t imagine anyone sitting in Easy Pose for 10 days).

Easy Pose (Sukhasana):

Come to a seated position, back straight, and your legs gently crossed in front of the body. If you struggle to maintain a straight back, either sit against a wall, or on a raised cushion/ Yoga block.

Your eyes can be open or closed, but closing them often helps us to focus.

Rest your hands either palms up, facing the sky, or down (if you need to feel more grounded), touching the knees.

Begin to concentrate simply on breathing, inhalations and exhalations through the nose. If it helps, breathe in for a mental count of four, hold the breath for one second at the top, then out again through the nose for four. The moment when the breath is held at the top is thought to represent bliss, peace, the ultimate release.

Alternatively, if yo are more experienced at deep breathing you could try inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts.

Try to aim to do this for a few minutes each day, to simply ‘be’ with yourself, allowing thoughts to come and go. And of course, ensure you remove any digital distractions before beginning your practice. 🙂

Easy Pose (Sukhasana)

Disclaimer: While I am a certified yoga teacher, if you have any issues or concerns, please check with your doctor before performing the above pose. As always, listen to your body and modify as necessary.

So today I watched my husband, Damien fall off the side of a mountain in Nepal (See Ghorepani to Siprong via Poon Hillif you would like to would like to read more about this story) and it got me thinking about how often we show our love and gratitude towards the people who are closest to us.

Today is the perfect day to tell your loved ones how much you care for them; how much you love them and how much they mean to you. Do not wait until it is too late.

Below I have included a love and gratitude meditation to help you enhance your feelings of love and gratitude for not only your loved ones, but also for yourself.

Love & Gratitude Meditation

This is an excellent script for experiencing love and gratitude. You may want to record yourself reading the script and then using it as a guided meditation.

To begin, find a quiet, peaceful place where you won’t be disturbed. This is your time, so make the most of it. You may want to turn off your phone, hang a do-not-disturb sign on the door, and really give yourself over to the peace and serenity that is always ready and waiting for you deep within.

Find a comfortable position, either lying down or sitting in a straight back chair, whichever feels best to you today. Take a few nice deep breaths, bringing your awareness fully to the present moment. Let go of any busy thoughts preventing you from tapping into your inner essence.

Now you are ready to scan your body. As you scan your body, if you encounter tension anywhere simply use the power of your mind to melt it away, as easily as warm water melts ice.

Starting at the top of your head, relax your scalp completely. Feel the skin of your forehead and temples relax. Allow your eye muscles to release, your jaw to soften, and let your ears, nose and chin, teeth, tongue and gums relax. Now, just let this peaceful feeling flow down your neck. Feel it soothe your throat and dissolve any tension on contact as it glides down to your shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrists and hands.

Now let it wrap around you, enveloping you in love and peace as it softens all the back muscles all the way down to the base of your spine. Continue to breathe in deep, fluid breaths. Breathe in health, happiness and harmony, breathe out any tension, toxins, worries or disease, allowing anything that does not serve you to leave your body like a dark cloud.

Send this peaceful feeling into your hips and buttocks. Let it glide down your thighs, relaxing your legs completely as it flows down to your knees, calves, ankles and feet. Allow any remaining tension from anywhere in your body to flow out your toes, leaving your whole body feeling very comfortable, peaceful and relaxed.

Continue to breathe deep relaxing breaths, feeling your belly rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale. Notice how the air feels cooler as you breathe in, and warmer as you breathe out. Now, imagine a golden glowing ball of light about 30 cms above the crown of your head. On an inhalation, breathe that light in through the top of your head through the centre line of your body, right down to the tailbone. On the exhalation, breathe that light back up the way it came and out the top of your head. Repeat this 2 more times at your own pace.

Now, place your hands either in prayer position or flat on the centre of your chest bringing your awareness to this area. Visualise a beautiful emerald green or a soft pink glowing ball of light.

This is your heart chakra, the chakra of love for yourself and others. Let it glow, bringing gifts of compassion, self-acceptance, and the ability to love deeply. Breathe in pink or green and let these feelings expand, seeing yourself living in perfect harmony with everyone in your life. Feel your heart swell with compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others.

Visualise your loved ones smiling at you and smile back at them. Picture them happy, healthy and full of love and gratitude. Let this image fill you with gratitude for the opportunity to live in this wonderful world with so many amazing, loving, caring people.

Let this chakra continue to glow and spin for as long as you want. [If you are recording this, you may want to have up to 5 minutes silence on the recording here].

Sit or lie for a few moments more, enjoying how relaxed you feel, and experiencing your body reawaken and your mind returning to its usual level of alertness.

Slowly return to a standing position, and continue with the rest of your day, feeling re-energized.

I hope you enjoy this meditation. Showing love and gratitude is so important. Not only today, but every day. Make it a habit to appreciate the small things and notice the abundance of love in your everyday life. Your future self will thank you for it.

The Japanese have a marvellous word, wabi-sabi which celebrates the humble, hidden beauty of incomplete and imperfect things.

In nature we see Wabi-Sabi all the time: a jagged cliff’s edge, eroded rocks jutting out of a mountain face or gnarled branches in an untamed forest. As I walked from Nayapul to Ulleri, (See my blog entitled Nayapul to Ullerifor a traveller’s point of view of this leg of our journey), I realised just how many examples of imperfection we find in nature that we deem to be beautiful.

Everywhere nature’s imperfections were being ‘Ohhhed’ and ‘Ahhhed’ over and the best travel pictures always highlight the way the light hits the tangle of the trees or the asymmetry of the mountains.

Nature, as is life, is imperfect. And so are we.

“Wabi-sabi reminds us that we are all transient beings on this planet- that our bodies, as well as the material world around us, are in the process of returning to dust. Nature’s cycles of growth, decay, and erosion are embodied in frayed edges, rust, liver spots. Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace both the glory and the melancholy found in these marks of passing time.” (Source: http://www.utne.com/mind-and-body/wabi-sabi).

So, my advice to you is stop and enjoy the imperfections in nature, try not to take yourself too seriously, look beyond what’s on the outside and try to see the beauty (or the wabi-sabi-ness) in everyone and everything.

With that been said, today I’d like to introduce you to a fun and a little kooky pose called Alternative Cactus Pose. Despite looking imperfect, asymmetrical and TBH a little strange, this pose is guaranteed to make you smile, and to love that imperfection that your body is creating. It is a good pose to practise after the traditional Tree pose, which is a more graceful, symmetrical standing balance.

Disclaimer: While I am a certified yoga teacher, if you have any issues or concerns, please check with your doctor before performing the pose below. As always, listen to your body and modify as necessary.

Alternative Cactus Pose

Alternative Cactus Pose (above):

Come out of Tree Pose [optional].

Stand tall, raising and bending the right leg and taking hold of it just below the knee with the right hand.

Balancing on the strong, left leg, use the right hand to open the right leg out to the right side slightly.

Bend the left arm and raise it slightly, opening out the left palm and fingers.

Breathe into the balance.

Then repeat on the opposite side.

Finish with traditional Cactus Pose (below) [optional].

Cactus Pose

Namaste,

Natalie

P.S. If you like my posts, please click on the like button below this post or click on the follow button to get instant notifications to keep up to date with my latest posts. Xo

According to Ayurveda, someone who is healthy has all three Doshas in balance, a wholesome appetite, strong digestion, all body tissues functioning favourably, regular excretion, and their mind is in a state of bliss, in tune with the spirit.

There are many ways in which you can begin to balance your Doshas, one way is obviously through the food we eat but another way is engaging in a regular routine of looking after your health and wellness of your mind, body, and spirit.

That daily routine is called Dinacharya. Below I have simply listed the steps in an Ayurvedic daily routine. If you are just starting out I recommend trying to implement just 1 or 2 of these steps and establish a good routine before taking on any more steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed and then giving up altogether.

Dinacharya: Your Daily Yogic Routine

The Ayurveda practice of Dinacharya, or “law of nature,” consists of daily self-care routines, which provide structure for instilling balance and establishing cohesiveness in the physical, mental, and emotional bodies.

1. Wake up in the morning before sunrise.

2. If easy and natural… eliminate: empty bowel and bladder. Don’t strain. Ayurveda never wants us to resist healthy natural urges, or strain by trying to force them. If you have trouble emptying your bowels every day, you can always try these reflexology points to help you naturally and easily relieve minor/ temporary constipation.

3. Wash your face and splash cold water in the eyes. Our eyes work very hard all day and they tend to accumulate a lot of heat. Splashing a bit of cold water into each eye in the morning helps to cool, soothe, and relax the eyes, but also helps us to feel more vibrantly awake.

4. Scrape your tongue (yes, I know it sounds revolting and it is gross but now, 9 months in, I can’t stand not doing it first thing in the morning as my mouth feels so much better for doing it). Please see my Blog “Tongue Scraping & Oil Pulling” for more information on how to do this.

5. Oil pulling (once again it is something that takes some getting used to but once you get used to it, it is addictive). Please see my Blog “Tongue Scraping & Oil Pulling”.

13. Practice Meditation starting with just a few minutes each day and working up to twenty minutes.

14. Eat a light breakfast.

15. Then… work or school- you are ready to do this

16. Make your biggest meal your lunch.

17. Go to bed early.

The above are only a select few options on the full menu of Dinacharya offerings. Obviously, you will already be doing some of the things listed above and won’t need to add everything to your routine. Try one or try all the offerings. I suggest taking on adopting one or two practices to start with and continue to build your routine. The adoption of two Dinacharya-inspired changes can make a difference when enveloped into your day-to-day routine. For example, since January I have implemented oil pulling and tongue scraping into my daily routine and my mouth is thanking me for doing so! We are all works in progress and I continue to work towards building other practices into my daily routine.

The implementation of a personal Dinacharya ritual can serve as powerful and effective insurance for physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing.

An elder Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other stands for love, joy, peace, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too.”

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

“Love is a choice. Fear is a default. Choose love and overcome fear.” – Manjot

I didn’t write this post immediately after my treatment as I have been pondering this idea for a few days.

Do You Love, or Do You Fear?

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” – John Lennon

If you remove all your fears- every one of them- how different would your life be? Think about it. If nothing stopped you from following your dreams, your life would probably be very different.

In the English language we have many words to describe the emotions we experience in our lifetimes. But deep down there are only two emotions: love and fear. Or should I say love or fear since the two can’t coexist. All positive emotions come from love, all negative emotions from fear. From love flows happiness, contentment, peace, and joy. From fear anger, hate, anxiety and guilt are fostered.

According to Manjot (and the Karmic law: The Law of Focus), we have to make a decision to be in one place or the other. There is no neutrality in this. If you don’t actively choose love, you will find yourself in the ‘default’ of either fear or one of its component feelings. In difficult circumstances when our commitment to love instead of fear is challenged, we must choose love otherwise the choice will always be the alternative; fear.

Even when you choose love, it doesn’t mean you will never fear again but you are one step closer to healing old wounds and chasing your fears away.

Whatever one puts out into the Universe will come back to them. Love tends to breed more love, and fear tends to breed more fear because like attracts like. It’s really up to you.

How about you, do you love, or do you fear? You can share your insights and join the conversation by clicking on the comment link.

Namaste,

Natalie

P.S. Click here if you would like to read about Treatment 4. Otherwise click on the next button below to read a story that relates to my 3rd treatment.

Karma is the law of cause and effect– an unbreakable law of the cosmos. Your actions create your future. The reason your fate is never sealed is because you have free will. Therefore, your future cannot already be written. That would not be fair. Life gives you chances. This is one of them.

“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” – Ghandi

The Great Law/ Law of Cause and Effect: “As you sow, so shall you reap.”

The simple explanation of the Great Law is: our thought and actions have consequences- good or bad.

Energy (thought, action) that we put into the world has a consequence, immediate or not.

To receive happiness, peace, love, and friendship, one must BE happy, peaceful, loving, and a true friend.

Whatever one puts out into the Universe will come back to them.

The Law of Creation: “What we desire comes through participation.”

Life requires our participation to happen. It does not happen by itself.

We are one with the Universe, both inside and out.

Whatever surrounds us gives us clues to our inner state.

Surround yourself with what you want to have in your life and be yourself.

The Law of Humility: “Refusal to accept what is, will still be what is.”

One must accept something in order to change it.

We must first accept the present circumstances in order to change them.

In focusing on the negative instead of making changes to address the negative, we’re committing to a zero-sum result.

The Law of Growth: “Our own growth is above any circumstance.”

“Wherever you go, there you are.”

The only thing we have control over is ourselves.

True change only occurs if we make the commitment to change what is in our heart.

It is we who must change and not the people, places or things around us if we want to grow spiritually.

When we change who and what we are within our hearts, our lives follow suit and changes too.

The Law of Responsibility: “Our lives are of our own doing, nothing else.”

When there is turbulence in one’s own life, there is often turbulence internally. If we’re to change our life, we must change our frame of mind and surroundings.

We mirror what surrounds us, and what surrounds us mirrors us; this is a Universal Truth.

One must take responsibility for what is in one’s life.

The Law of Connection: “Everything in the Universe is connected, both large and small.”

Our past, present and future are all connected. As such, we must put in the work to change these connections if we desire something different.

The smallest or seemingly least important of things must be done because everything in the Universe is connected.

No step- first, intermediate or last- is more important in the accomplishment of a task. All are required.

Each step leads to the next step, and so forth and so on.

The Law of Focus: “One cannot direct attention beyond a single task.”

We cannot have negative thoughts or actions and expect to grow spiritually. We must direct full attention to achieve any desired task.

One cannot think of two things at the same time.

Always think thoughts of love.

If our focus is on Spiritual Values, it is not possible for us to have lower thoughts like greed or anger.

The Law of Hospitality and Giving: “Demonstrating our selflessness shows true intentions.”

What we claim to believe must manifest into our actions. Selflessness is a virtue only if we’re accommodating something other than ourselves.

Without a selfless nature, true spiritual growth is nearly impossible.

If one believes something to be true, then sometime in their life they will be called upon to demonstrate that truth.

Here is where one puts what they claim to have learned into practice.

The Law of Change: “History repeats itself unless changed.”

Conscious commitment to change is the only method of influencing the past. History will continue along an unconstructive path until positive energies direct it elsewhere.

One cannot be in the here and now if they are looking backward to examine what was or forward to worry about the future.

Old thoughts, old patterns of behaviour, and old dreams prevent us from having new ones.

The Law of Here and Now: “The Present is all we have.”

History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.

Looking back regretfully and forward pointlessly robs oneself of a present opportunity. Old thoughts and patterns of behaviour negate the present chance to advance ourselves.

Live in the here and now. Practice Mindfulness.

The Law of Patience and Reward: “Nothing of value is created without a patient mindset.”

Rewards are not the end-result. True joy comes from doing what one is supposed to be doing, and knowing that the reward will come in its own time.

The Law of Significance and Inspiration: “The best reward is one that contributes to the Whole.”

One gets back from something whatever they put into it.

The true value of something is a direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it.

Every personal contribution is also a contribution to the Whole.

The end result is of little value if it leaves little or nothing behind. These lesser contributions have no impact on the Whole, nor do they work to diminish it.

Loving contributions bring life to and inspire the Whole.

Energy and intentions are vital components that determine the significance of an end-result. Ideally, love and passion embody the motives of one that resolves to leave a lasting impression on the Whole.

Namaste,

Natalie

P.S. This list was adapted from several websites. The words above are not my original thoughts or words. For further reference you can visit the following websites where I obtained this information:

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbours came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“It is what it is,” the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbours exclaimed.

“It is what it is,” replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown off violently, and broke his leg. The neighbours again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. “It is what it is,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbours congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “It is what it is,” said the farmer.

– Author Unknown

It is what it is. It is neither good nor bad; nor positive or negative. It just is.